WEARABLES

Fitbit Flex 2 review

Some small irritations, but otherwise an excellent fitness tracker at a decent price

- Jonathan Bray, Alphr

The waterproof tracker is smaller, lighter, and better looking than the old Flex but it’s still got a few issues.

- Abigail Bassett, Digital Trends

Specs / Features

Track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes | Ultra-thin, removable tracker hides in bands, pendants and bangles | Swim-proof for tracking swimming, life-proof for wear in the ocean, shower, pool and beyond | SmartTrack automatically recognizes select workouts and records them to your Fitbit app; Get call and text notifications on your wrist with unique vibration patterns and color-coded LED lights | Automatically track how long and how well you sleep, and set a silent alarm to wake with a small vibration; LED display lights up to show progress toward your daily goal

Track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes | Ultra-thin, removable tracker hides in bands, pendants and bangles | Swim-proof for tracking swimming, life-proof for wear in the ocean, shower, pool and beyond | SmartTrack automatically recognizes select workouts and records them to your Fitbit app; Get call and text notifications on your wrist with unique vibration patterns and color-coded LED lights | Automatically track how long and how well you sleep, and set a silent alarm to wake with a small vibration; LED display lights up to show progress toward your daily goal

Simple, stylish tracking

The Fitbit Flex 2 is a simple yet effective tracker with a more exciting design than its predecessor. Not a great deal has changed in terms of looks, but Fitbit has done enough to ensure the new-generation model doesn't look like a boring rubber band. The far better two-pin clasp ensures a solid, comfortable fit too.

The Fitbit Flex 2 is a simple yet effective tracker with a more exciting design than its predecessor. Not a great deal has changed in terms of looks, but Fitbit has done enough to ensure the new-generation model doesn't look like a boring rubber band. The far better two-pin clasp ensures a solid, comfortable fit too.

Still simple at heart

If all you want is a simple motion tracker that can measure your daily steps or swim sessions, the Flex 2 is perfectly fine. However, anyone who's serious about their workouts or who demands a stronger set of features should definitely look elsewhere.

If all you want is a simple motion tracker that can measure your daily steps or swim sessions, the Flex 2 is perfectly fine. However, anyone who's serious about their workouts or who demands a stronger set of features should definitely look elsewhere.

Fitbit jumps in the pool for the first time and doesn't drown

As a follow-up to the original Flex, the Flex 2 is an impressive improvement. Not only is the band better built and the clasp mechanism a lot more reliable (almost infallible really), it's also smaller, lighter, and more capable thanks to automatic exercise recognition.

As a follow-up to the original Flex, the Flex 2 is an impressive improvement. Not only is the band better built and the clasp mechanism a lot more reliable (almost infallible really), it's also smaller, lighter, and more capable thanks to automatic exercise recognition.

Fitbit’s cheapest tracker is a good’un

In the grand scheme of fitness bands, the Fitbit Flex 2 doesn't do all that much. What it does do it's really good at, and it's basically idiot-proof. If you want a tracker that'll just work with minimum fuss, there are few better alternatives.

In the grand scheme of fitness bands, the Fitbit Flex 2 doesn't do all that much. What it does do it's really good at, and it's basically idiot-proof. If you want a tracker that'll just work with minimum fuss, there are few better alternatives.

Despite a few annoyances, the Fitbit Flex 2 is a near-perfect affordable fitness tracker

Despite the occasional annoyance, the Fitbit Flex 2 is a fantastic fitness tracker. It does pretty much everything you need it to, with new waterproofing, app updates and swim-tracking for a pretty affordable price. You’ll have to look elsewhere for heart-rate monitoring or barometric pressure sensors, though.

Despite the occasional annoyance, the Fitbit Flex 2 is a fantastic fitness tracker. It does pretty much everything you need it to, with new waterproofing, app updates and swim-tracking for a pretty affordable price. You’ll have to look elsewhere for heart-rate monitoring or barometric pressure sensors, though.

A waterproof Fitbit at last

These small niggles aside, though, I like the Fitbit Flex 2. It works well, it’s waterproof, and it will track everything you need it too, including swimming, for a reasonable price. The only things missing are heart-rate monitoring and a barometric pressure sensor, which would allow it to...More

These small niggles aside, though, I like the Fitbit Flex 2. It works well, it’s waterproof, and it will track everything you need it too, including swimming, for a reasonable price. The only things missing are heart-rate monitoring and a barometric pressure sensor, which would allow it to count how many flights of steps you’ve climbed.

First swim-friendly fitness tracker from the company

Has living longer with the Flex 2 altered our opinion of the waterproof tracker? Yes and no. We still feel the same about the design and the confusing LED light-based approach to notification support. Battery life still doesn't blow us away either, but it will get you a week of tracking. We are m...More

Has living longer with the Flex 2 altered our opinion of the waterproof tracker? Yes and no. We still feel the same about the design and the confusing LED light-based approach to notification support. Battery life still doesn't blow us away either, but it will get you a week of tracking. We are more positive about its core feature and that's the swim tracking. Yes, it is basic, but it serves up a better swimming experience than similarly priced trackers. Fitbit’s software still lack those meaningful insights we crave for, but does the basic activity tracking well. The SmartTrack tech is a bonus, but again delivers very basic information. If you like swimming and can live without the more advanced metrics of a dedicated swimming watch, then it’s still a decent buy.

The barebones tracker for the fitness rookie

The Flex 2 has the right idea. With an abundance of health tracking features packed into a simple, easy-to-wear device, it’s the perfect fitness tracker for someone looking for their first wearable. On the other hand, it could prove extremely useful for someone purchasing the tracker with a...More

The Flex 2 has the right idea. With an abundance of health tracking features packed into a simple, easy-to-wear device, it’s the perfect fitness tracker for someone looking for their first wearable. On the other hand, it could prove extremely useful for someone purchasing the tracker with a specific goal in mind, such as exercise weight loss or calorie counting in mind. When using the device for one or two things at a time, it’s just simple enough to work. As someone who’s unlikely to make use of every potential feature at once, I enjoyed the experience and would recommend the device to the fitness rookies of the world.

Smarter, easier to use, and cheaper

If you are casual athlete and want to get a rough idea of the calories you burn in a day, the Flex 2 is a solid choice. It’s more rugged than its Flex predecessor and offers the additional bonus of being waterproof so there’s no risk of accidental water damage. It offers some neat add...More

If you are casual athlete and want to get a rough idea of the calories you burn in a day, the Flex 2 is a solid choice. It’s more rugged than its Flex predecessor and offers the additional bonus of being waterproof so there’s no risk of accidental water damage. It offers some neat additional functionality, including activity smart tracking and swimming tracking. With new jewelry style bands and pendants available it looks a lot more like tech jewelry than a miniature bike tire strapped to your wrist.

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